Perfect Apple Pie
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Ready to bake the best apple pie ever? This step-by-step guide will help you create the ultimate pie with a buttery, flaky crust and a gooey, cider-flavored filling—an irresistible fall favorite!
As fall rolls in and apple season hits its peak, there’s no better time to bake a homemade apple pie—whether to use up your apples or as a special Thanksgiving dessert. I’ll be honest, all homemade fruit pies are a bit of a project (whoever coined the term “easy as pie” had clearly never made one from scratch!). But with a tried-and-true recipe like this one, you’ll have a perfect pie every time, and trust me, it’s totally worth it.
The key is starting with a foolproof all-butter pie crust and avoiding the usual apple pie pitfalls—a soupy filling and soggy crust—by cooking the apples before filling and baking the pie. This extra step thickens the juices, concentrating their flavor and ensuring a crisp, flaky crust with a gooey, cider-flavored filling. This, my friends, is the ultimate apple pie! Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce for an extra-special dessert.
“This pie turned out incredible! the crust is delicious and the filling juicy and full of flavor.”
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Pie
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the essential structure and stability needed for the crust. Additionally, it thickens the filling by absorbing the juices released during baking. Always measure flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off to ensure accuracy.
- Sugar: Adds a touch of sweetness to the crust.
- Baking Powder: Helps to slightly leaven the crust.
- Butter: Creates flakiness and richness in the crust.
- Ice Cold Water: Binds the dough together. The temperature of the water helps keep the butter cold. This ensures the crust will come out flaky and tender.
- Baking Apples: For apple pie, use baking varietals such as Granny Smith apples, Honeycrisp apples, or Golden Delicious apples (or any combination); they hold their shape when cooked so you don’t end up with applesauce pie!
- Lemon Juice: Prevents the apples from browning and adds a hint of tartness.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Sweetens the filling and adds a rich, molasses-like flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds warmth and spice to the filling.
- Cornstarch: Works with the flour to thicken the filling, ensuring it isn’t runny.
- Beaten Egg/Cream/Milk: Brushed over the crust to give it a golden, glossy finish. Any of these 3 options will work nicely.
- Granulated or Turbinado Sugar: Sprinkled on top for added sweetness and a slight crunch.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Crust
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times to combine.
Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly with lots of pea-size clumps of butter within.
Add the water and pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and very crumbly.
Dump the dough crumbles onto a work surface and divide into two piles.
Make one pile about 15% bigger than the other. You can eyeball it, but if you have a kitchen scale, one pile should weigh 13 oz (368 g) and the other 11.5 oz (326 g).
Shape into two balls of dough and pat each one into a 5-inch (13-cm) disc. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 3 days to rest.
Step 2: Prepare the Apple Pie Filling
In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, mix the apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, and cornstarch. Stir until thoroughly combined and both the flour and cornstarch are dissolved.
Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the apples soften and the juices thicken, 11 to 13 minutes.
Transfer the apples and their juices to a baking sheet, spreading them out evenly. Allow them to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and set an oven rack in the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on this rack to preheat as well. (This acts like a pizza stone, providing a hot surface to help the bottom crust of the pie crisp up effectively.)
Step 3: Prepare the Bottom Crust
Remove the larger disc of dough from the refrigerator. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and place the dough on it; sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough as well. Gently knead the dough with your hands just until it becomes soft and malleable (avoid overworking it—you want it just supple enough to roll out). Roll the dough out into a 13-inch (33-cm) circle, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Carefully lift the dough by draping it over your rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch by 1½ -inch (23-cm by 3.75-cm)-deep pie pan, preferably metal (as metal conducts heat more effectively, helping the bottom crust crisp up) but a ceramic or glass pie dish will work too.
Gently press the dough into the pan, making sure to ease it into place without stretching. Trim the edges of the dough to extend about ½ inch (1.25 cm) beyond the pie pan’s lip.
Transfer the cooled apples and their juices into the crust; refrigerate while you prepare the top crust.
Step 4: Prepare the Top Crust
Remove the second disc of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into an 11-inch (28-cm) circle, following the same process described above. Retrieve the filled pie from the refrigerator and carefully drape the rolled dough over the top.
Crimp the edges with a fork or flute them with your fingers to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Work quickly and dust your fingers with flour as needed to prevent the dough from becoming too warm.
Brush the top crust with egg wash, cream, or milk.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated or turbinado sugar.
Cut four 3-inch (7½-cm) slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for an additional 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, at least 4 hours. Resist the temptation to cut into the pie while it’s warm, or you may end up with apple soup!
Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
Anytime you’re baking with apples whether it’s apple strudel or applesauce, it’s a good idea to use a blend of tart and sweet baking apples for the best flavor. Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Gala, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious are all good options—try different varietals and see what combinations you like best.
Sure! The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead of time and stored, loosely covered with foil, at room temperature. If you’d like to reheat it, place the pie on a baking sheet and loosely cover it with foil to protect the crust. Reheat it at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it’s warmed through. Just keep in mind that the filling may get a bit soupy when served warm.
Definitely, apple pie can be frozen for up to 3 months before or after baking it. (If freezing it unbaked, hold off on brushing the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkling it with sugar; you can do that right before baking.) If baked, let it cool completely and place it in the freezer uncovered. When fully frozen, wrap the pie securely in foil and freeze. If the pie is unbaked, wrap it securely in foil and freeze. When ready to serve, proceed with baking instructions above (the pie is likely to take 10 to 15 minutes longer to bake).
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Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 18 tablespoons (2 sticks + 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 7 tablespoons ice cold water
For the Filling
- 4½ pounds baking apples (about 8 large apples; see note), peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For Baking
- A beaten egg, heavy cream, or milk, for brushing over crust
- 2 tablespoons granulated or turbinado sugar, for topping the pie
Instructions
Prepare the Crust
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly with lots of pea-size clumps of butter within.
- Add the water and pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and very crumbly.
- Dump the dough crumbles onto a work surface and divide into two piles, with one pile about 15% bigger than the other. You can eyeball it, but if you have a kitchen scale, one pile should weigh 13 oz (368 g) and the other 11.5 oz (326 g). Shape into two balls of dough and pat each one into a 5-inch (13-cm) disc. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 3 days to rest.
Cook the Apples
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, mix the apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, and cornstarch. Stir until thoroughly combined and both the flour and cornstarch are dissolved. Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the apples soften and the juices thicken, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer the apples and their juices to a baking sheet, spreading them out evenly. Allow them to cool completely.
Preheat the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and set an oven rack in the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on this rack to preheat as well. (This acts like a pizza stone, providing a hot surface to help the bottom crust of the pie crisp up effectively.)
Assemble & Bake The Pie
- Remove the larger disc of dough from the refrigerator. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and place the dough on it; sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough as well. Gently knead the dough with your hands just until it becomes soft and malleable (avoid overworking it—you want it just supple enough to roll out). Roll the dough out into a 13-inch (33-cm) circle, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Carefully lift the dough by draping it over your rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch by 1½-inch (23-cm by 3.75-cm) deep pie pan, preferably metal (as metal conducts heat more effectively, helping the bottom crust crisp up) but ceramic or glass will work too. Gently press the dough into the pan, making sure to ease it into place without stretching. Trim the edges of the dough to extend about ½ inch (1.25 cm) beyond the pie pan's lip.
- Transfer the cooled apples and their juices into the crust; refrigerate while you prepare the top crust.
- Remove the second disc of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into an 11-inch (28-cm) circle, following the same process described above. Retrieve the filled pie from the refrigerator and carefully drape the rolled dough over the top. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute them with your fingers to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Work quickly and dust your fingers with flour as needed to prevent the dough from becoming too warm. Brush the top crust with beaten egg, cream, or milk, and evenly sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated or turbinado sugar. Cut four 3-inch (7.5-cm) slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
- Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for an additional 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, at least 4 hours. Resist the temptation to cut into the pie while it’s warm, or you may end up with apple soup!
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I bake frequently, but I never made an apple pie. This is very good and easy to follow instructions. My husband and I really enjoyed it.
This was the first pie I ever made in my whole life (I’ve never even made pies with store-bought pie shells before!) and I was super nervous… but it actually turned out well! I did make some mistakes but everything was cooked, not burnt or soggy!
This also really opened my eyes to how much work pies are and my respect for pie-makers everywhere has increased 🙂
I tried this recipe for the first time and it turned out just FAN-tastic!!! The crust was super buttery and flaky. I did have trouble getting the top uncooked dough to stick to the bottom blind baked crust, as the just baked bottom crust was radiating heat to the top dough and making it super soft and impossible to flute. A few tips for others trying this recipe:
1) I did not use 3.5lbs of apples. I used all the apples I had on hand, which was 8 medium sized apples. I also reduced the flour and corn starch as a result (1 1/2 tbsp each, instead of the 2 tbsp each).
2) I also learned from past Pie experience and did NOT pour in all the liquid with the apples. It would have resulted in a swimming pool and soggy bottom crust. Good decision on my part!
3) Once I put on the top dough and into the oven, I had to tent the edges during the 2nd round of baking at 375F, so they did not get too dark. I tented with about 20 mins left. If I didn’t tent, it would have been way too dark.
The pie turned out just fab! It was worth the 4 hours of effort! I wish I can attach a picture of the beauty!
Question for Jen: How do you store the pie after it’s been baked and cooled? The pie crust will be soft if I put it in the fridge. But then again it’s an all butter crust, so it should be refrigerated right? I hate eating cold pie. I’m hoping it can be kept on the countertop for a few days?
Hi Corinna, Glad this was a success! You can store it at room temperature loosely covered with foil; it will last nicely for about 3 days. 🙂
Hi Jen
Love your recipes, always success. However, any idea why my pie crust, whether home made it store bought (Pillsbury)slides down the sides if the pie dish when I prebake it?
Thanks so much.
Hi Mary, have you tried the crust for this pie? It includes baking powder which helps cut down on the shrinkage. When you use a store-bought crust, using pie weights or beans when you blind bake it will help a bit but even doing that, you’ll still get some shrinkage. I find that the store-bought crusts that come in the aluminum tins seem to shrink a little bit less. Hope that helps!
Does this bottom crust really supposed to bake a total of 1 hr and 40 mins? I followed the recipe and crust was way overcooked and stuck to pan.
Hi Ann, Yes, the timing is correct for the bottom crust (between the blind baking and then the additional time in the oven with the filling). Sorry you had a problem with it getting overcooked! Did you bake the pie on the center rack of the oven?
Jenn-
THE Perfect Apple Pie! Baked so many different recipes this week in search of the ‘one’ recipe for an apple pie to serve at our family dinner ‘celebration’. Between my husband and I, we finished the first one w/in 2 days. Decided to make a second time, pie was delicious as the first one. Made one change to the recipe, to the pie crust; I don’t use shortening so substituted w/ butter. Otherwise, followed the balance of the recipe.
Yes, the extra step to reduce the syrup for filling added to prep time, but oh so worth it! Passed on the microwave, instead used a pan and stove to thicken the syrup. Both pies had a flaky buttery crust, apple filling was tender (not mushy) layered w/ caramelized syrup (w/ tinge of lemon) was sublime! Recipe is a definite keeper. Excited to share w/ family.
Pie was absolutely PERFECT!
Hi,
I made this pie for the first time today for my spouse’s bday…the crust came out very good and golden/flaky but the insides were a huge disappointment. I did have to cover the crust edge with aluminum foil while it finished baking because it had reached a perfect color prior to bake time.
The apples were oddly still too ‘crunchy’ and a whole lot of liquids were pooled inside the pie that we discovered once we cut a slice?
I needed to reach out to see why this was? and figure out what to correct in my next attempt/attempts.
When the apples were mixed with the lemon juice, rind and sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon and left sitting and liquids collected and reduced in the microwave for 4 min., my liquid was reduced but not thickened? Also it was a bit more than 1/2 still remaining in my pyrex dish. I loosely covered the pyrex dish with a paper towel and turned on for 4 min….the liquids did overflow and spill inside the microwave. I guess I do not know if my errors occurred here? which still does not explain the ‘crunchy’ apples?
Would greatly appreciate your input for better results.
Sorry you had a problem with this JooJoo! Next time, instead of microwaving the juice after you’ve collected it from the apple/cinnamon/sugar mixture, I’d saute the apples, the juice, and the flour and cornstarch for about 15 minutes or so. That will serve a dual purpose of softening the apples and reducing the juice. Hope that helps!
This pie turned out terrible. 4 hours of work and it tasted terrible. 1st off, 3 1/2 lbs of apples? It didn’t say if that meant with the cores, or after sliced and ready for pie. Next, 375 degrees? The outside was burnt to a crisp and the apples inside were raw And bitter. This recipe should be taken off the website. A waste of time and money!!! Never ever again!!! It needs to be perfected, tested and tried. Obviously, it wasn’t. Shameful!!!!
Are you really that upset over a recipe? Hope life gets better for you 🙂
That happened to me too and I felt the same way. This is fine to tweak and try but why do that when there are better recipes.
Made this pie for the second time over this past weekend to lift our mood as we enter week 2 at home. Takes a fair amount of time to make but it is definitely worth it — the best apple pie I’ve had. My husband thinks so too. Thanks for another great recipe and giving us a little boost!
I really enjoyed making this yummy pie! The crust and filling turned out really well in my opinion. We used Granny Smith and Honey Crisp apples and it turned out great.